Impasse Leaves Employers In the Dark Over Paychecks

By

Robin Sidel and

Laura Saunders

Dec. 28, 2012 6:24 p.m. ET

The federal budget stalemate is creating a mess for anxious corporate payroll managers and tax preparers.

As congressional leaders and the White House girded Friday for a last-ditch negotiation to avert the tax increases and spending cuts known as the fiscal cliff, companies faced a raft of uncertainties over how their employees' income will be taxed next year.